


Raging Shadows (REWRITE)

by astrologiic



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 11:09:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12957939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrologiic/pseuds/astrologiic





	1. Chapter 1

**N I C O**

"No, no, no, no!"

Nico had to suppress the urge to groan loudly as Drew Tanaka, once again interrupted the painting session.

"You're doing it all wrong!" The daughter of Aphrodite was currently hounding om Cecil Markowitz of the Hermes cabin. She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at his canvas and demanded in her usual nasally "What the hell is that?"

"Um..." Cecil's gaze slowly slid over to his canvas, before his copper eyes averted back to her just as slow. He shrugged, raising an eyebrow and giving her a quirky lopsided grin. "Art?"

The room basically erupted in snickers. Nico covered his mouth with the back of his hand to stifle his own chuckle.

"It's a freaking half-assed rainbow, that's what it is! The colors aren't even in the right spot and what's with the  _awful_  paint stroke?

"Hey," Bethany Wilson of the Hermes cabin commented. She pointed to a little pink, purple, and blue bracelet she sported around her wrist. Of course, she had the usual Hermes grin plastered on her face as she continued, "That's homophobic. Every rainbow is a beautiful rainbow."

Of course, there was just a sliver of time to make his own statement before there really was a reaction from the class. He raised his hand in the air, "She's got a point."

That really got the class cracking up.

Drew spun on her heel to glare at him. Nico just shrugged, his tiny grin growing as he turned back to his own painting casually, as if he hadn't uttered a single word.

"See! Thank you!" Cecil gestured to both Bethany and Nico. "They know what's up! It could've been totally worse, you know! It could've looked like Sherman's!"

"HEY!" Sherman Yang hollered from across the room, immediately shooting up like a rocket. He waved a paintbrush threateningly, red paint flying everywhere. "YOU WANNA FIGHT, MARKOWITZ?!

Drew looked like she was gonna have an anger induced aneurysm.

"Okay! Okay, I think that's enough for today!" Rachel Dare announced with a nervous laugh, clapping her hands together loudly to get the attention on her. She wiped some paint on her already paint stained overalls. "Time's basically up anyway."

"Finally!" Cecil stood up, stretching and yawning as everyone began to make their way to dinner. "My back's killing me."

"You're lucky it's not Sherman," Nico joked, glancing over his shoulder to see the son of Ares still glaring in their direction. Miranda Gardiner was by his side, rubbing his arm and probably reassuring him that yes, he could kick Cecil's ass tomorrow in Capture The Flag.

Cecil didn't seem bothered by the stare whatsoever. He crossed his arms and regarded Nico with a smug smirk. "Nah, mah boy Sherman here is all bark and no bite." To make a point, Cecil raised his head and winked in Sherman's direction. The loud huff from behind him was enough to tell Nico that Sherman was aggravated.

Nico couldn't help but snort. Cecil was his friend and all but he was just asking for it now. "Isn't he on the blue team for Capture the Flag tomorrow?"

Cecil's proud grin was wiped right of his face. He let his arms fall to his sides along with his facade and cursed, "Hades on a burning bicycle. You're right."

"Hey," Nico warned, "I was actually thinking about saving your sorry ass, now I'm not so sure."

"Haha my hero."

The sun was just about setting at this point, thanks to the fact the Autumn Equinox had passed only a few days prior to the current one. The leaves on the trees were beginning to reveal their true colors of red, yellow, orange, or brown, adding more color to the camp grounds. The weather was cooling down, but that didn't stop Nico from taking his red flannel off and tying it around his waist. It was freezing in that art room.

Cecil, the pervy idiot he was, got a different idea. He cocked an eyebrow at the son of Hades, "Ooh, you getting ready to see William?"

There it was. Nico let out a long, aggravated huff, raising his hand and facepalmed, before dragging it over his face. "Oh my gods."

"It's a simple question, Neeks!" Cecil defended, throwing his arms out. Nico rolled his eyes fondly, staring off to the side to avoid letting Cecil see his face. Things had drastically changed a lot for him in the past three months. Not in a bad way though. Hell, if anything, things began to look up for him. It was only the end of September and yet, he was actually content with how things were finally turning out.

But, Nico knew better than anyone. That can change with a flip of a switch.

There was a sudden movement from the corner of his eye that just didn't fit into the view. The son of Hades turned his head to the side, to get a better look. If it was one trait that always got the best of him, it was his curiosity.

A black, hooded figure stood in the distance, concealed pretty well in the shade of the sea of trees. The figure stood their ground now, unmoving. Nico could basically feel their eyes on him.

The son of Hades frowned, a bad feeling already forming in his chest as he stared right back, furrowing his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes. This was new.

" _Nico,_ " A hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder, causing the shorter boy to jump in alarm and spin around, a hand already on his sword hilt. Cecil took a step back with his arms up in surrender, copper eyes wide. "Whoa there, calm down. You like, zoned out for a sec. You okay dude?"

Nico blinked, processing what had just happened. He turned back to the spot where the suspicious figure stood, surprised to find the area empty. It was like they weren't even there.

"Nico," Cecil said again, concern in his tone. He kept looking over Nico to get a glimpse of what Nico kept staring at. (which wasn't hard, since he was like, three inches taller.) "You're acting all weird. I said your name like, three times and you didn't even react."

"I—uh," Nico stammered, struggling to piece his words together into a sentence. He felt on suddenly edge, anxious. "I thought I saw something. My bad."

Cecil watched Nico for a few seconds, before tilting his head to the side and putting his hands on his hips. "Was it, Willlll~?"

"Oh my gods," Nico groaned loudly, but he was thankful for the little distraction. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened. If it was some flashback from Tartarus or something, or just a spirit passing by, or who knows.

But, Nico knew one thing: it gave him a terribly bad vibe.

He hoped he was wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

**N I C O**

The uneasy feeling followed him right back to his cabin that night.

Nico growled curses under his breath as he once again shifted himself under the bedsheets to find the cool side of his mattress. He made another attempt to close his eyes and just  _relax._ It only took a few more minutes before he began overheating again, and the rate of his heartbeat quickened, and the darkness slowly began caving in and it was  _reaching and he couldn't breathe_ —

Nico lurched up, reaching for his lamp and twisting the knob as quick as possible. Light quickly spread throughout the cabin, lighting up the formerly darkened space. Nico let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in.

 _So much for getting better,_ He thought bitterly.

Nico sighed, covering his face with his hands and running them through his hair. He struggled to slow his rapid breathing, but he managed. 

 _Easy Nico, just like Will said. In and out. It's okay._   _It's been only a few months._  

Still, it was kind of embarrassing to state. The son of Hades was afraid of the dark. His own domain. Especially what had happened in Tartarus...

Nico frowned and shook his head, remembering what Will had let him know about what he was feeling. He had called it PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Paired with his existing Depression, it was basically a recipe for disaster.

But, he had been getting better. Slowly.

Still, this was the worst he's felt in weeks. Paranoia was attached to him like a shadow. He couldn't get the feeling of overwhelming trepidation out of his system.

And it all tied back to the figure in the woods.

Nico narrowed his eyes. Whatever it was, it was pretty shady (no pun intended). He wracked his brain for possible explanations. A shadow nymph didn't fit the description. Despite their name, they're playful, clever creatures with harmless umbrakinesis. Radiating fear didn't fit their criteria.

It did fit  _his own_  though.

It didn't make sense to Nico. Another child of Hades? He would've known, wouldn't he? Unless his father also broke the oath, but that didn't add up. He was the one who was the most pissed about the whole prophecy.

Or maybe a monster. Some monster they've never seen before. A witch possibly?

There was only one real way to find out for sure, he decided with a grim realization. And he couldn't do it alone.

* * *

 

"So basically," Cecil summed up tiredly. "We're going twelve AM monster hunting."

Surprisingly, getting Cecil was a lot easier than he thought it was, hence, the kid was already awake when he shadow traveled into the cabin (Nico was luckily able to prevent Cecil from shrieking loud enough to wake his cabin mates).

"Look, I hate the idea too," Nico assured him. "Still...it doesn't feel right to just, not do anything. Something's off."

"No shit," Cecil huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He was tapping his foot more than usual. "You're in my cabin. In the morning.  _With my sleeping sibling_ s. That's weird, Neeks."

"Don't call me Neeks," Nico hissed quietly. "If you're gonna use a nickname, make it good."

"So what, like Spooks?" Cecil whispered back, eyebrow raising.

Heat quickly found itself rushing to Nico's face. Spooks was one of the nicknames Will had came up with for him. He flushed, lowering his gaze and grumbling, "Shut up."

The corners of Cecil's lips quirked up and his copper eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Sometimes Nico disliked the guy. He was a master and pulling Nico off track and he hated him for it.

"This is serious, Cecil, stop getting off track," Nico chided him, bringing the original topic back into the spotlight. That's what's most important at the moment, not his lovelife. "Something's going on. There's this...strong energy, that's unfamiliar."

Cecil's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, and a sudden seriousness took over his features. "Like fear."

Nico nodded solemnly. "Exactly."

"You felt it too?" Cecil asked, shoulders drooping. "I thought it was just my anxiety acting up again. I couldn't get any sleep."

"Same," Nico sighed. He pushed back a strand of black hair in his face. "Bad memories kept coming back to me."

"...Tartarus?" Cecil asked after a pause of hesitation.

"Mmhmn."

"Shit man, that sucks. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Nico reassured him. "But that's not what's important right now."

"What is, though," A female voice had both the boys jumping five feet in the air and spinning towards the source of the speaker. "Is finding out what the Hades that thing is."

Lou Ellen Blackthorne stood at the foot of the nearest window. She seemed completely prepared to join in their current mission, since she was already dressed in a thin varsity jacket and her signature beanie. She greeted them with a little wave. "What, you thought you guys could just adventure without us? Rude."

Cecil's face immediately lit up, going from the undead to a lively four year old who just tried cotton candy. "Lou!"

Will Solace poked his head into view and Nico nearly choked. He too wore a windbreaker and was completely prepared for adventure. "And me."

"Wha—" Nico was flabbergasted. This wasn't part of the plan. He didn't know whether to feel happy or alarmed. "How—you guys felt it too?"

"I did," Lou Ellen piped up. "It's too strong for me to  _not_  feel."

"Did you see the figure?"

"Figure?" Will frowned and glanced at Lou Ellen. "You mentioned nothing about a figure."

Confusion was written all over her face. "That's because I never saw one." She turned her face to Nico and raised an eyebrow. "You saw some figure?"

"Yeah, it was standing in the forest and I turned my head for a second and it vanished. That's where the feeling started."

Lou Ellen squinted her hazel eyes and stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I felt it the whole day..."

"Maybe it's a spooky death thing?" Cecil suggested, shrugging a little.

"What?"

"Spooky death thing?" Will asked, unimpressed. "I don't get it."

"No no, think about it," Cecil shifted his position on his bed and held two fingers up. "Nico and Lou Ellen are children of Hades and Hecate. They both have power over... dead, spooky stuff—"

"Necromancy," Nico corrected for him.

"Yeah, that thingy. Thanks, Neeks."

Nico had to surpress the urge to reach over and strangle the son of Hermes.

"Maybe there's a connection or something like that, y'know? Like, the thestrals in Harry Potter or something. Only those in the presence of death can feel it?" Cecil suggested.

"It's possible..." Lou Ellen admitted. She raised an eyebrow at Nico. "Minor death god?"

Maybe, but it still didn't add up to him.

"We can sit here and come up with conspiracy theories all day," Nico said, "but there's one way to find out for sure. Only one way. We gotta find out for ourselves."

Will gave Nico a look of uncertainty, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, Lou Ellen interrupted him with, "Well, we gotta hurry then."

She glanced up at the sky with distaste. "I'd rather not end this trip as harpy lunch."


End file.
